


Never Enough

by BatWithAHat



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Addiction, Both Nick and Nate have trauma, Comfort/Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Relationships, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Main quest spoilers, Robot/Human Relationships, Romance, Spoilers, Substance Abuse, The Institute - Freeform, eventual smut if I feel like it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:27:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24093580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatWithAHat/pseuds/BatWithAHat
Summary: Following his departure from Vault 111 and joining forces with the greatest synth detective in the commonwealth, Nate finds himself struggling to process the events that occurred due to the war. After discovering a terminal entry within the institute that he was never meant to read, there may only be one man- er- synth who truly understands exactly what Nate is going through.
Relationships: Male Sole Survivor/Nick Valentine, Sole Survivor/Nick Valentine
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Never Enough

**Author's Note:**

> First fanfic in a long time! Hope you guys enjoy but I wouldn't be surprised if my skills are rusty and I suck ass at developing stories.

Nate chugged an ice-cold Nuka Cola as he unpacked the goodies he and Nick had scavenged earlier. Well... More like Nate scavenged. Nick wasn't much into picking up every random item they find on the floor, but he had learned by now not to critique Nate's wastelander habits as those glass bottles and wonderglue are what kept Sanctuary protected and lit up.  
Digging through a large duffel bag, Nate pulled out item after item. A toothbrush, broken lightbulb, a desk fan... Suddenly Nate's eyes lit up as he pulled out a Jangles the Moon Monkey plushie. It was in a surprisingly good condition, minimal tears, and all buttons still attached. Nate's guilty pleasure had been collecting stuffed animals. It was one of the one things he didn't immediately scrap. Maybe it reminded him of a simpler time, a time when he was allowed to have a childish mindset. A time where you didn't have to carry a gun on your shoulder 24/7, set up turrets outside your house, and carry plenty of radiation medication on you. Back when you could be carefree. Unfortunately, such a mindset and carefree attitude would get you killed in a heartbeat these days.

  
Nick wandered over to inspect the new addition to his collection, before grabbing the duffel bag. "That's real cute, but something tells me the rest of what's in here ain't as innocent." His glowing golden eyes rested their gaze on Nate in a rather disapproving manner. Nate gulped as Nick reached his skeletal hand into the bottom of the bag and pulled out a bottle of buffout tablets and set them down on the wooden desk. He continued to pull substances out of the seemingly infinite bag. Whiskey, Psycho, mentats, jet...

Nate leaned back in his seat and smirked. "Keep on going and you might pull a rabbit out like a magician", Nate remarked. "Oh can it, Nate", The synth spat back, though in a more lighthearted manner. Despite his disappointment, he could never be mad at the sarcasm that Nate always had on hand to lighten the mood. He shook his head again, trying to go back to being serious. "Y'know, you keep lugging this junk around and pushing it through your body and you'll look like Hancock soon"

"Hey, Hancock's pretty good looking"

"Then you'll start making decisions like him"

  
"That's a much better precaution."

  
Nick shook his head again, trying to hide the light smile. "You know what I meant anyway, Nate... I just don't want you to get hooked on that junk. Gonna be honest, I really enjoy having you around to watch my back. You're a great person, but... so was Marty Bullfinch. And... Well, you saw what happened to him. Substance abuse led him down the wrong path, and instead of me solving cases by his side, you and I solved the case of what became of him. A sad corpse on the roof of the Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Maybe if he hadn't gone in intoxicated, he would have completed the mission before us." The expression on Nicks's face had now faded, replaced with one that was unreadable. Nick didn't always show expression through his face, especially if his old processors hadn't calculated what he should be feeling. Even then, the reflection of that emotion on his face wasn't one of necessity, but it was beneficial if Nate could tell when something was bothering Nick or not. However, despite the lack of facial expression, Nate could definitely tell this was bothering him.  
"Nick--I..." He trailed off and sighed, thinking his words through before speaking softly. "I'm sorry about how things went with Marty. I never knew the guy but I can tell he had some... problems. Problems I'm sure you sat down and tried to talk him through. I would like to think that I am more responsible though. I know this seems scary-- but come on. We just busted Marowski's chem lab." He picks up the alcohol and chems and shoves them in an unused file cabinet Nick had never filled. "How could I NOT stock up? Everything is okay in moderation. Plus-- Buffout? Psycho? I've been using that since the old days. We were angry men in power armor on steroids half the time. That's how the United States wanted its men, far fewer regards for its soldiers health--"

Nick cut him off

"What about your own regards for your health though, Nate? Supplies are short these days... Bah- I don't mean to talk to you like a kid... I just wanted to let you know your usage is enough that even these old processors have started recording. Maybe that's just me being slow and picking it up, or you've increased your usage. Either way, I just wanted to have a little heart to heart, y'know? We often see eye-to-eye and I am hoping this is one of those times as well... I trust you're keeping an eye on it, and I want you to know there's no shame in getting something off your chest or letting me know if something's wrong."

Nate's smirk came back to lighten the mood. "And you can always come to me if you accidentally download a virus or malware to that bolt-brain of yours alright?" Nick chuckled, the expression welcoming itself back to his face. Nate reached back into the bag. "Before you go and assume this whole bag is alcohol and chems, I want you to see this."  
Nate reached in and pulled an item out of the bag. A small item...A tape to be exact. He handed it to Nick and waited for a reaction.

"What's this? Some new case tape--" Nick flipped it around and his jaw dropped. He looked up at Nate. "Detour...? How did you--"

"A couple of months back when we were babbling on about the old days, we were talking about shows and movies... I recall you mentioning your favorites were old noir and crime movies. Detour I believe was one you listed... Most films have been damaged from the radiation, I know, But I found this one back in Vault 81. I didn't want you to endure the insults from the vault-dwellers so I didn't bring you with me that tie."

  
Nicks processors could be heard whirring. He couldn't remember the last time he and Nate had been apart for a long time. They practically worked together almost daily now. Was Nate going off into the wasteland at night to get extra work done? Hm. He may need to also give another lecture on Nate's sleeping habits, er, lack of sleep. His attention snapped back to Nate as he continued.

  
"Turns out they had a library of preserved tapes and as a reward for saving that little boy, Dr. Forsythe said I could take one of their tapes... I'm... Not sure we'll be able to get it to work on a tv. But if push comes to shove, I can always get the audio to play on a terminal I'm sure. It will be like listening to a radio show like... THE SILVER SHROUD!"  
Nick didn't know what to say. He didn't know if he should thank Nate or swing a boot over his head for that horrible joke. He ended up cracking a larger smile and laughing. "Wow. You are one hell of a partner... Thanks, Nate. Good deeds like this are why the commonwealth loves you. This is probably the best damn gift I've ever received... We should watch, or at least listen to it together. I recall you saying you had never seen it...?" Nate yawned. "Yeah... not that I can recall from how you described it." He rubbed his eyes and Nick grumbled. "Something tells me the only thing you need to see right now is the inside of your eyelids. Let's plan for tomorrow alright...? You can stay here tonight, Ellie rarely sleeps here so her bed is open.  
Nate stumbled out of his seat and stretches, unbuckling his armor until he had on nothing but his road leathers.

"Yeah... Just go ahead and make yourself at home, dropping your clothes all over my floor. Not like we have a reputation to keep up if someone walks in needing help" Nick grumbled, dripping with sarcasm.

  
"If they run in at 3 AM that's kinda their fault anyway Nick. Like... You don't just walk into someone's house that late. What if they're sleeping? Or worse? Having sex?

"I'm not particularly fond of either"

  
Nate shrugged. "Just saying. Anyway... Yeah. Goodnight Nick, I'm gonna go ahead and hit the hay" Nate slurred as he stumbled up the old creaky wooden steps. Nick shook his head, looking down on mint-condition tape before placing it near his terminal and turning off the lights. He didn't sleep, but a nice full diagnostic that fully shut him down often left him feeling refreshed once he restarted. He fell back on his own bed and pulled his fedora over his eyes-- not that it made a difference. But it was a habit that only proved he was human in every way except physical. He still had all of nicks old habits. He didn't even need to lay down to do a diagnostic like this, but it just felt right. He compared it to sleep. As his systems shut down for the night, his last thoughts were ones of concern. He couldn't help but feel like the tape, as sweet as it was, was an opportunity to change the subject.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope you robot fuckers are still lurking around. Don't think I didn't notice the unfortunate lack of nick/soul fics here in 2020, or even in 2019. Also, yeah, I binged all of them in under 24 hours fight me.


End file.
